Homemade White Bread That Tastes Like a Bakery

🍞 The Softest Homemade White Bread | GatheratOurTable There’s something special about baking bread from scratch — the smell that fills your kitchen, the golden crust, and that first warm slice with butter melting on top. In this video, I’ll show you how to make a classic white bread that’s soft, tender, and perfect for sandwiches or morning toast. This recipe is simple, made with ingredients you already have at home, and it’s a great introduction if you’ve never baked bread before. All you need is a little patience and the reward is worth every minute. 👨‍🍳 What you’ll learn: How to activate yeast for the perfect rise Tips for kneading and shaping the dough How to bake your loaf so it’s soft on the inside and golden on top 📋 Ingredients: 1 cup warm water (110°F) ¼ cup warm whole milk (110°F) 1 Tablespoon active sourdough starter 2¼ tsp instant yeast (1 packet) 2 Tbsp granulated sugar 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened 1½ tsp salt 3⅓ cups all-purpose or bread flour Instructions: Prepare the dough- Whisk the warm water, warm milk, yeast, and sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Add the butter, salt, and 1 cup flour. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add another cup of flour. Beat on medium speed until relatively incorporated (there may still be chunks of butter). Add the remaining flour and beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. Knead the dough- Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 5–8 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5–8 full minutes. If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need; you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. 1st Rise: Lightly grease the mixing bowl with olive oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Shape the bread- When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Roll it up into an 8 inch log and place in the prepared loaf pan. 2nd Rise: Cover shaped loaf with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise until it’s about 1 inch above the top of the loaf pan, about 1 hour.Adjust oven rack to a lower position and preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). (It’s best to bake the bread towards the bottom of the oven so the top doesn’t burn.) Bake the bread- Bake for 32-36 minutes or until golden brown on top. If you notice the top browning too quickly, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil. (I usually add aluminum foil over the loaf around the 20 minute mark.) To test for doneness, if you gently tap on the loaf, it should sound hollow. For a more accurate test, the bread is done when an instant-read thermometer reads the center of the loaf as 195–200°F (90–93°C). Remove from the oven and allow bread to cool for a few minutes in the pan on a cooling rack before removing the bread from the pan and slicing. Feel free to let it cool completely before slicing, too. ✨ Subscribe for more homemade recipes that bring people together. ----------- Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 0:20 Ingredients and dry ingredient mixing 1:09 Dough mixing process 2:06 First proof after mixing 2:20 Second proofing in pan 3:24 Scoring and baking 3:58 Resting and removing bread from pan 4:33 Eating our delicious bread! 4:45 Subscribe to our channel! These are my top 5 kitchen tools that I use every week. Each one earns its place in my home kitchen, and I’ve linked them below so you can easily shop what I actually use. Disclosure: These are Amazon affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools I actually use in my own kitchen. Thanks for supporting Gather at Our Table! Wusthof Chef Knife & Steel https://amzn.to/4r5fmU6 https://amzn.to/4aBeZeh Lodge Cast Iron Pan https://amzn.to/4ktRqYe Oxo Wood Spoons https://amzn.to/3ZX5yj4 Boos Block Cutting Board https://amzn.to/3MnbQ8x 🔥 Join our community: Subscribe here → https://www.youtube.com/@Gatheratourtable Follow on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/gatheratourtable Follow on TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@gatheratourtable 💬 We’d love to hear from you! Comment below and tell us what you’re making this week — and don’t forget to tag @gatheratourtable if you recreate one of our recipes!